


The Diamond Jubilee

by sbmcneil



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Celebrations, Diagon Alley, F/M, Family Fluff, United Kingdom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-10 00:12:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14726265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sbmcneil/pseuds/sbmcneil
Summary: Harry and his family join in the celebration for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.





	The Diamond Jubilee

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for Mark for agreeing to Brit pick for me and of course to Tom for his excellent beta work! I wrote this six years ago for Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee and thought it would be appropriate in honour of the royal wedding this past weekend.

“Daddy, can I come with you to get Torie and Teddy?” Lily asked as she bounced around the kitchen.

Harry smiled at the excited figure of his daughter. Ginny had already done Lily’s hair in two curly ponytails tied up with red, white, and blue ribbons and she was wearing her new favourite Union Jack shirt.

“Not today, sweetie,” Harry said as he dropped a kiss on her forehead. “They are really busy at Hogwarts today, so it would be easier for me to just go get them. Why don’t you stay here and help Mummy? I’m sure she would appreciate the help.”

“Okay,” the energetic four year-old replied happily. She bounced out of the room in search of her mother.

Harry threw Floo powder into the flames and called out, “Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry — Professor Longbottom’s office.”

Stepping through the flames, Harry greeted his old roommate. Holding out his hand, he shook Neville’s hand and embraced him with a one-armed hug. “Neville, how are you doing?”

“Good,” Neville replied happily. Neville was very altered from the pudgy little boy he’d been as a schoolboy. He was tall and in good shape, his blonde hair had darkened over the years to a light brown that he wore short. His office was littered with pictures of his family — his wife, Hannah, and their two children Frankie and Alison.

“Hannah and the kids are coming up tonight to join in the celebration,” Neville said happily. “We’ve really had a great time planning what to do. Each house has come up with their own ideas and Professor Carter has helped in giving lessons about Queen Elizabeth and the League of Nations. I’m really glad we are doing this.”

Harry nodded. “Me too, I think it’s great that the Magical and Muggle worlds are blending together better and the kids are learning about the Muggle world.”

A knock sounded at the door, and Neville opened the door to Victoire Weasley and Teddy Lupin. Harry smiled and hugged both of them. “Are you two ready to go?”

Both children nodded eagerly, and after saying goodbye to Professor Longbottom, they stepped through the Floo to the Potter house. Twelve year-old Victoire was already showing signs of her mother’s beauty. Her strawberry blonde hair was pulled back into single ponytail, and echoing her younger cousin, it was tied back with red, white, and blue ribbons. She was wearing a white t-shirt with a gold crown on it with the words — Queen Elizabeth, Diamond Jubilee 1952 to 2012. Fourteen year-old Teddy had black hair and green eyes for the day, looking remarkably like his godfather. He was wearing a Union Jack shirt and jeans. They were both thrilled to be getting out of school for the day and attending the Thames boat parade with the Potters.

When they arrived at the house, the teens were immediately swarmed by the three Potter children. Teddy was a great favourite of both of the boys and Lily adored her oldest cousin. Ginny had bought both girls earrings in the shape of the flag, and soon all three of them were wearing their new earrings. Ginny packed a small bag with snacks, umbrellas, omnioculars, jumpers for everyone, a blanket, and a camera.

Harry smiled over at his wife, kissing her briefly. “Are you ready to go?”

“I think so,” she replied brightly. She picked up her bag. “I hope no one asks to look in here. No Muggle would believe how much I have packed in here.”

“Don’t worry,” Harry said. “There is charm on it so the Muggles will think it is okay without checking it.”

She grinned. “Being married to the Head Auror comes in handy from time to time.”

“You look pretty,” Harry commented as they loaded up the car together. Like her daughter and niece, Ginny had her hair pulled back. She had braided it with the red, white, and blue ribbons woven into the braid. She was wearing a blue sundress with a white cardigan.

Ginny smiled at her husband and rewarded him with a kiss. “Thank you, love.”

Soon they were loading all of the children into their Range Rover. After ensuring that everyone had visited the loo and Harry double checked to make sure he had both his Ministry of Magic and Metropolitan Police credentials, they were off. Harry was happy to hear all of the chatter and laughter from the back of the car. His aunt and uncle had always yelled at him in the car when he was young, but he was always happy to hear the sounds of the children having fun and enjoying themselves.

“Uncle Harry, do you think we could get something for my brother and sister?” Torie asked.

“Of course,” Harry replied. “How is Louis doing? Have you heard?”

She wrinkled her nose. “He’s still sneezing flames and Dommi is looking a little green as well, Mum told me. I’m glad I already had Dragon Pox.”

“Will Uncle Ron be there?” Teddy asked.

“No, he’ll be at the Diagon Alley street party,” Ginny answered. “He and Uncle George developed some new products for today, and they are helping to sponsor the party. So we will be the only ones to represent the Weasleys.”

The white Range Rover mixed in with all of the other traffic headed for the capital. If it jumped ahead of the other cars a few times or miraculously found a parking spot where moments before there hadn’t been one, well no one noticed. After Ginny and the children got out of the car, Harry quickly locked and enchanted the car before leading everyone to Battersea Park.

Harry made sure they arrived early, shortly after the gates opened. Ginny and Torie had the younger kids well in hand, and soon each of them were waving little plastic flags. Torie was standing in line with Lily so she could get her face painted. The boys were standing nearby trying to decide if they were too old for such things or not.

Walking up behind his wife, Harry slipped his arm around her waist. “I’m going to check in to make sure everything is going well.”

Ginny smiled up at him. “Go ahead. Torie and I have this under control.”

He dropped a quick kiss on her before turning to his boys. “I’ll be back. You two behave for your Mum.”

He gestured at a boy around Albus’s age with a lion painted on his face. “That looks cool, but wouldn’t a dragon be better?”

Both boys’ eyes lit up as they considered how they could have a dragon painted on their faces. James grinned up at his father. “Brilliant idea, Dad. Don’t worry, we’ll be good.”

Harry ruffled their thick black hair before turning to the oldest boy. “Do you want to come with me?”

Teddy’s eyes lit up. “Yeah.”

Harry nodded and gestured to Ginny that Teddy was with him. The two of them headed off towards the riverbank.

“So where are we going?” Teddy asked eagerly.

“We have an observation post set up in the Tower Bridge,” Harry explained as he guided the younger wizard along the path. “So how is fourth year going?”

“It’s great,” Teddy replied. “I wish I’d made the Quidditch team, but I’m going to try out again next year. Our Keeper is graduating and I really want to be Keeper.” He rambled on, filling in his godfather on his classes and friends.

Catching something Teddy said, Harry asked, “What’s wrong with Nigel? I thought the two of you were good friends.”

Teddy made a face. “I thought so too, but he keeps talking about Torie. How pretty she is, and does she have a boyfriend, and all sorts of rot. Why’s he telling me all of this? She’s one of my best friends, I don’t want to hear him going on and on about her. It’s like some guys go on about Aunt Fleur or Aunt Ginny.”

Harry bit back a smile. He suspected there was more to it than that. He’d seen the admiring glances Teddy occasionally sent towards Torie, but he wasn’t going to say anything. Merlin knew it took him long enough to realize he liked Ginny. He somehow didn’t think his godson was going to take so long.

“That’s rough.”

As they approached a small non-descript building, Harry steered Teddy towards the door with the huge sign reading — Closed for Repairs. Teddy looked over his shoulder at his godfather who nodded reassuringly. Reaching around the boy, Harry opened the door and quickly presented his ID to the Auror on duty. This proved unnecessary as she recognized him instantly.

“Welcome, sir.”

“Thanks,” Harry said as they moved into the room that was much larger than it appeared from the outside. One whole wall was transparent, giving the Aurors inside an excellent view of the crowds. “How is everything?”

“Good. We’ve caught some pickpockets, but most people seem to be behaving,” she replied.

“Excellent,” Harry said as he looked around the room. “I’m heading over to Tower Bridge.”

“Of course, sir.”

A few minutes later, Harry and Teddy were standing in a large room high up on the Tower Bridge, looking down on the crowds gathering along the riverbanks. Teddy was watching the crowds while Harry conferred with Susan Bones who was in charge of the site.

She smiled when she caught sight of him. “Good morning, Harry. I thought you were off today.”

He shrugged with a half-smile. “Am I ever totally off? I just wanted to check in.”

“Everything is going well,” she replied. “I’ve spoken to Security and they have no concerns. All of the boats have been checked both magically and with Muggle technology, and there is security all along both sides of the river. We’ve had some threats — the most concerning is the woman who wants to expose the Wizarding world. We have all Aurors on the lookout for her, but no one has seen her yet.”

Harry frowned slightly. “Is that the same woman, Sarah or Sophia?”

“Sarah Allen,” Susan confirmed. “She’s tried to interrupt events before. You recall that Seamus caught her outside the wedding last year. I think she was trying to get on the telly before she did anything.”

“Okay,” Harry said. “I have my mirror if you need me for anything. I’ll be with Ginny and the kids at Battersea Park.”

“Have fun,” Susan called as the two headed back to the park.

* * *

When Harry and Teddy arrived back at the park, they found the four children on the carousel and Ginny watching them and taking pictures. Harry slipped up behind his wife, wrapping an arm around her. She looked up and then leaned back against him.

“How’s it going?” he murmured.

“Great,” she replied. “Al and Jamie both have dragons on their faces while Torie and Lily have butterflies. So far Jamie has told me he’s starving about twenty times. Every time he passes a new display, he finds something else he needs.”

Harry laughed, he loved taking the kids out. “I don’t blame him. Teddy and I saw some amazing displays.”

A flashing next to them caused him to look up. A photographer was putting his camera down. He smiled at the couple. “Sorry, sir, didn’t mean to disturb you. The two of you are a cute couple.” He handed them a card. “Copies of the pictures will be available at the booth near the entrance in two hours.”

“Thanks,” Harry said taking the card. When the man wandered off, Harry laughed. “I have to say, that was a first. I thought someone recognized us.”

By this time the kids were pouring off the ride. Harry smiled at the kids, admiring all of the face painting.

“Dad, can we eat?” James asked. “I told Mum I was starving, but she said we had to wait.”

Harry laughed as he lifted Lily on his hip for a hug. “I think we can find something to eat.”

“Yeah!”

Harry and Ginny walked slightly behind the children, holding hands. Lily had decided she wanted to walk and was holding Torie’s hand. The girls leading the way while Teddy and the two younger boys were in the middle. They passed several displays before giving in to Jamie and Teddy’s pleas for sausage rolls.

After eating, they walked about, looking at the various carts and displays set up. Torie was able to find a cute t-shirt for her sister and a model of a sail boat for her brother. As Harry was paying for Torie’s purchases, Teddy was looking over one of the model row boats.

Ginny smiled up at him, aware for the first time that he was now several inches taller than her. “You like that?”

Blushing slightly, Teddy nodded. “This is the kind of boat I was telling you about at Christmas.”

“The row boats with the crews?” Ginny asked as she tried to recall what he’d told her.

Teddy nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, I asked Professor Longbottom if we could form a crew team. He looked into it and he’s going to talk to Professor McGonagall. He said as long as we have some safety measures in place, he didn’t see why we couldn’t.”

“That’s great,” Ginny replied proudly. “I bet your grandmother was thrilled.”

“She was,” he confirmed. “She said that my grandfather would be really proud. He rowed when he was younger and tried to get my Mum interested, but she never really liked the water much.”

As Teddy turned away, Ginny indicated the model boat he’d been admiring to Harry who nodded and bought one for his godson. Teddy was looking over the list of boats that were taking part in the parade. Jamie was looking over the older boy’s shoulder. He couldn’t read the words, but he liked the pictures of the boats.

“What are these boats, Teddy?” Jamie asked pointing to a group of eclectic-looking boats.

“These are the boats from Dunkirk,” Teddy enthused. “My Great-Grandfather took part in the evacuation. Back during World War II, the British Army was chased to this beach called Dunkirk in France. They thought they were all going to die, but a fleet of ships made dozens of trips over to France to evacuate them. My Great-Grandpa had a fishing boat and he and his brother made five trips over to France to help rescue some soldiers.”

“Wow,” James was clearly impressed. “They were heroes.”

Teddy nodded. “My aunt Charlene, my grandfather’s sister, told me about it. She said that she can take me to see the beach this summer.”

“You’re going to be here for the ‘lympics, right?” Al interjected anxiously.

Teddy laughed. “Of course, I wouldn’t want to miss that.”

“What did you tell Daddy you want to see?” Al asked curiously as Jamie continued to pore over the pictures of the boats.

“I want to see the rowing,” Teddy said. “There are going to be rowing on this river. I think I’d like to see the diving also. Torie wants to see the gymnastics, so I told her I’d go with her.”

“Lily wants to see the ‘nastics also,” Al said. “I want to see the bikes and the running. Jamie wants to see the swimming and Mummy wants to see the horsies.”

“It’s going to be an amazing summer,” Teddy said. “I’m glad Harry can get us tickets to all of that.”

“Daddy is helping keep everyone safe,” Al said. “That’s why he can get the tickets to everything.”

Teddy smiled down at the younger boy. “Your Daddy does a great job of keeping everyone safe.”

“Did you see the people in the big bridge?” Al asked. “Mummy said that’s where you went.”

“Yes, we saw the Aurors in the Tower Bridge,” Teddy said.

Al shrugged, “We got to ride the horsies.”

Teddy ruffled Al’s hair. “That sounds like fun.” He looked over at the rides and noticed the line for the swings was very short. “Do you want to ride the swings?”

Following Teddy’s gaze, Al nodded excitedly. He called out to his mother. “Mummy, can we ride the swings?”

Ginny agreed and the two older kids took the younger ones on both the swings and the carousel. As the time of the start of the boat parade neared, the Potters made their way to the edge of the park. It was getting a bit chilly, so Lilly and Al pulled on their jumpers. The waterfront was a sea of flags, and the Potter children proudly waved their flags along with everyone else.

By 2:30 in the afternoon, the parade was underway. Lily was now sitting on Harry’s shoulders. The two smaller boys were standing on boxes Harry had discretely conjured, but none of the Muggles noticed. Everyone was happy and in a good mood watching the amazing array of boats sail down the Thames. Ginny had distributed the omnioculars so everyone could zoom in on any boat they wanted. She smiled as the two little boys automatically turned to Teddy for help. She knew how lucky they were that he was so patient with them.

Lily gasped soon after the regatta got underway. “Mummy, look the queen. She’s wearing a sparkly dress.”

“I see, baby,” Ginny replied. “I bet she wanted to make sure everyone could see her.”

“The pretty girl is a princess?” Lily asked as she waved at the passing barge.

“In the red dress?” Ginny clarified. Lily nodded and Ginny agreed. She figured it wasn’t worth it to explain she was a duchess. Lily wanted to see a princess.

The noise of the crowd and the music from the water made for a very festive atmosphere. Teddy wanted to see all of the boats, so he and Harry stayed at the waterfront. Ginny, Torie, and the younger kids came and went as the kids got bored. They came back one time with a box of cupcakes decorated with the flag and another time they brought back Lily’s favourite candy floss.

When the rain started, Ginny handed out clear plastic ponchos to the kids and handed Harry and Teddy umbrellas. By this time they could see most of the boats in the parade and the children were enthralled. James tended to like the bigger military boats, Al liked the row boats, but both boys agreed the dragon boats looked the coolest. Lily liked the royal barge and the boats with music the best. The river was filled with boats of every size and colour, and the sight was truly majestic.

By late afternoon, the last of the boats were disappearing around the bend in the river. Even though it was rainy and chilly, everyone was still in great spirits. Lily was a bit tired, but Harry was carrying her so she was okay.

“Daddy, can we go see the big bridge?” Lily asked.

Harry glanced over the kids’ heads to his wife. She seemed to be having fun, and as long as the kids were getting along without fighting, she was fine with extending their day.

“Okay, sweetie,” he said.

He led his family to the Floo to the Tower Bridge observation spot. While he conferred with Susan, Ginny and the kids looked out the large clear windows at the boats. Lily and Al were both impressed with the sight of the raised bridge.

“How’s everything gone?” Harry asked.

“Really well,” Susan replied. “We had a few arrests for drunk and disorderly and a few purse snatchers and pickpockets. The sort of thing you would expect from a crowd this size, but everyone seems to be on their best behaviour — no violence.” She shot a look over at her boss. “I noticed a few pickpockets tripped up in Battersea Park. They just fell.”

Harry blushed but grinned. “I couldn’t help myself. They were being rather obvious, but I didn’t want to interrupt my day.”

“Good for you,” Susan said with a smile.

Nodding, he re-joined his family. Sliding one arm around Ginny’s shoulders, he smiled down at her when she slid her arm around his waist and squeezed him.

“Having fun?” he whispered.

She nodded. “It’s quite a sight. The kids have been great and it’s fun.”

“Do you want to head over to Diagon Alley?” he asked. “I know Ron and George were planning to end the day with some fireworks.”

She nodded and soon the family was Flooing into George and Ron’s shop. The shop was crowded today, but the crowds in the store were nothing compared to the crowds packed onto Diagon Alley. It seemed as though all of Wizarding Britain was there determined to celebrate just like their Muggle counterparts.

The main magical thoroughfare looked beautiful. The windows all sparkled, and the streets had obviously been cleaned prior to the party. The rubbish bins were magically emptying themselves as they filled up. The shops were all draped in red, white, and blue streamers; and plastic flags had made their way to Diagon Alley as well. Several of the shops, including WWW, had push carts on the alley and were selling all sorts of jubilee related items.

It took a while, but they found Hermione and Angelina watching over their children playing in the playground that had been put up at the top of Diagon Alley. James, Al, and Lily were soon playing with their cousins. In a space that had obviously been magically enlarged, there were swings, slides, and a large sand box. Lily, having napped in her father’s arms, was recharged and ready to play.

Teddy and Torie were allowed to wander up and down the alley once Harry had outfitted them with one of the communication mirrors. Happy to have some time to themselves, they headed down the alley towards Torie’s favourite shop — the Quidditch supply shop.

As darkness fell, the Leaky Cauldron set out rows of tables. Hannah had already left to join her husband at Hogwarts, but her assistant manager was managing the crowds well. They offered meat pies, soups, and sandwiches for sale. The pumpkin juice and butterbeer were flowing. Teddy and Torie had re-joined them as the Potter-Weasley clan took up an entire table.

Once dinner was over, the bakery cart made it’s way around the alley selling trifles, tarts, fruit pies, and cakes. Soon the skies over Diagon Alley were filled with the WWW special Diamond Jubilee fireworks. Ron and George had outdone themselves in creating new fireworks. Soon sparkly portraits of the queen and her family at various time periods were flashing in the sky. They also had flags, maps of the United Kingdom, and the years of the queen’s reign. All in all it was a beautiful display.

Harry dropped Teddy and Torie off at Hogwarts and headed home. He and Ginny were able to get the three exhausted children clean and into bed in a record time. Together he and Ginny headed back downstairs and cuddled up together on the couch.

“It was an amazing day,” Ginny murmured as she snuggled closer to her husband.

“It was,” Harry agreed. “I think this is going to be an incredible year. The Queen’s Jubilee, the Olympics, and the Paralympics all here this year. This is a great year to be British and a great year to live so close to London.”

He leaned down and kissed her gently. “Thank you so much for enjoying it all with me. The kids are having a great time, and they are really enjoying this once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Ginny laughed and pulled him closer. “You are quite welcome, my love. I can’t imagine anywhere else I would rather be.”


End file.
